Narada & Maya: from Puranic Encyclopedia by Vettam Mani

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Note: story 4) comes from Devi Bhagavata Purana, a Sakta Purana

 

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NARADA I. A very famous sage of the Puranas.

 

3) Visnu showed Narada the function of Maya. See under Taladhvaja 1

 

4) Narada became a woman. While staying once with Krsna at Dvaraka, Narada

and the former went out on a tour in an aerial chariot. On the way they saw

a stream and Krsna stopped the chariot there as Narada wanted to quench his

thirst at the stream. Narada drank water from the stream disobeying Krsna's

injunction that he should bathe before drinking water, and lo! the next

moment Narada was turned into a woman and when 'she' looked around neither

Krsna nor the chariot was to be seen. She wandered about in the forest and

at last reached an asrama. When the Rsi of the asrama awoke from his samadhi

he saw standing before him a beautiful woman who requested him to accept her

as his disciple. He readily granted her request. The preceptor married the

disciple and in due course of time she became the mother of sixty children.

One day all the sixty children and their father expired together. The

grief-stricken widow felt too weak to perform the obsequies of the dead. An

extraordinary hunger also held her in its grips. She raised her hand to

pluck a fruit from the mango tree that stood nearby but could not reach the

mango above. She placed together the corpses one on the other, mounted upon

the heap of dead bodies and plucked the mango-fruit. Immediately a brahmin

arrived on the spot and exhorted the widow on the impropriety of taking food

without bathing after the death of husband and children. Then the widow

entered the stream and dived in its waters holding above water the hand in

which was held the mango, and lo! it was Narada who came out from the water.

Only the hand, which had been held above water and did not therefore get

wet, remained like that of a woman with bangles thereon. The brahmin, who

stood thereon the banks of the stream transformed himself into Krsna. As

ordered by Krsna Narada again dived with the whole of his body in the water

when the hand also turned into that of a man. The mango held in the hand

turned into an excellent Vina. And Krsna told Narada: "The Rsi who lived

with you as your husband and who is no more is Kalapurusa; and the sixty

children are years Prabhava, Vibhava etc. Krsna and Narada then returned to

Dvaraka. (Bhagavata, 7th Skandha).

 

9) Sri Krsna instructed Narada about Maya. Narada once requested Krsna to

teach him about Maya (illusion) and Krsna told him that he would be taught

sometime later. Afterwards, one day while Narada was walking about, it began

to rain and he took shelter from the rain in a hut near at hand. There was a

beautiful young woman in the hut and Narada fell in love with her. Narada

lived with her for many years and a number of children were born to them.

But a flood washed the mother and children off into the sea, and Narada was

grief-stricken. Then Krsna appeared there and asked Narada whether he loved

Maya. Narada confessed that he understood Maya very well and requested Krsna

to save him from attachments on account of Maya.

 

TALADHVAJA. The phantom husband of Narada. Once Narada became a woman and a

king called Taladhvaja married her (Devi Purana). It was to show how the

mind is covered with illusion that Mahavisnu made Narada into a woman.

 

Once Narada went to Mahavisnu and asked him about the secret of life.

Mahavisnu said that there was nothing called life and life exists because of

Maya the illusion of the mind. Narada insisted that he should see 'Maya'

(illusion) and so Visnu started from Vaikuntha with Narada on the back of

Garuda.

 

Crossing forests, rivers, cities, lakes, villages and mountains they reached

Kanyakubja. There they saw a beautiful lake. Garuda landed and Visnu and

Narada got down. They walked along the shore of the lake for some time and

then they sat beneath a tree for some time. After some time Mahavisnu asked

Narada to take a bath in the lake. Pleased at this command Narada placed his

violin and deer-hide on the shore and after first washing his face and feet

and doing 'acamana' with Kusa grass in his hand stepped into the water for

his bath. Mahavisnu stood near the violin and deer-hide of Narada and Narada

dipped himself in the water. What a surprise! Narada was changed into a

woman of great beauty. She had no memory of her previous birth and getting

herself on to the shore she stood there watching the surroundings there.

Then a king called Taladhvaja came on horse-back that way. He addressed the

beautiful woman as Saubhagyasundari and started talking with her. Within

hours they got married and Taladhvaja took her to his palace and spent the

honey-moon there happily. Twelve years went by and Saubhagyasundari became

pregnant. In due course she got a son named Viravarma. After another two

years she got another son named Sudharmi. Thus she delivered a son every two

years for twenty four years becoming the mother or twelve sons. After some

time she bore eight more sons also. When all the twenty sons came of age

they were married according to the custom and in due course those sons also

got sons. Thus Taladhvaja and Saubhagyasundari became the heads of a large

family of children and grand-children and lived happily. One day a king from

a far-off place with a great army suddenly came and surrounded Kanyakubja.

In the fight that ensued most of the sons and grand-sons of Saubhagyasundari

were killed. The king fled from the battlefield and came to the palace.

Saubhagyasundari was in great distress and when the enemies left the

battlefield she secretly went there to have a last look at her sons and

grandsons lying dead. The sight terrified her. They lay there without heads,

hands or legs, eyes protruded, stomach cut open, intestines lying out and

blood oozing out from everywhere. She fell to the ground and wept bitterly.

Then Mahavisnu came there disguised as an old brahmin and talked to her. He

gave her instructions on some truths about life. Saubhagyasundari then

called Taladhvaja and they both went to the old lake and as instructed by

the old brahmin Saubhagyasundari took a dip in the water. Lo! she became the

old Narada.

 

When Narada got up from the lake Mahavisnu was still standing near his

violin and deer-skin smiling at him. The sight of Visnu gave him knowledge

of all that had happened. He stood there recounting in his memory how he had

requested Visnu to show him Maya and how he had taken a bath in that lake

and how he had spent a long period of married life ending in misery and how

Visnu had come to her in the form of an old brahmin when she had cried to

him in agony and how the old brahmin had taken her and Taladhvaja to the

lake again and how he had become his old self again. He stood there still

pondering over these when Visnu called him and said "Come on Narada, how

slow you are. Finish your bath and come soon. What are you thinking about?"

Taladhvaja, however, was unmoved by any of these. He was puzzled to find a

bearded Sannyasi rising up from the place where his beautiful wife had

dipped herself for a bath. He went to Narada and asked "Oh best of sages,

where is my wife who has just dipped herself in this same place? From where

do you come?", Even before waiting to hear a reply from him the King began

to make a hue and cry about the loss of his wife. Then Mahavisnu went to him

and consoled him by saying with illustrations that 'human ties are only

ephemeral' and asked him to take a bath in the lake. Taladhvaja after his

bath became disgusted with life and after doing penance in the forests

attained moksa. (8th Skandha, Devi Bhagavata).